Cambuslang Summerfest row with council heats up again

Committee blast grant award

Kids enjoy the bouncy castle at last years Summerfest, but behind the scenes organisers are unhapppy at the level of council support the receive

Organisers of the Summerfest event in Cambuslang have hit out after receiving a grant for £2000 from the area committee.

Last year a row broke out with the chair of the area committee, Councillor Russell Clearie, when Summerfest were awarded a community grant of £2000, half of what they had received the year before.

Councillors on the committee voted earlier this month for a £2000 grant again, after the Summerfest committee requested £4550.

The decision has been slammed in a letter to the Reformer by Summerfest secretary, Elizabeth Watson.

She criticised the area committee chair as well as vice-chair, Councillor Richard Tullett, for the decision and said an underspend in the area committee’s 2013/14 budget should have been carried over to this year.

She said: “Chair of the area committee Councillor Russell Clearie and Depute Chair Councillor Richard Tullett have agreed a cut of the promised grant of £4000 to £2000. Funding for Summerfest was cut last year and after complaints from the committee of Summerfest, Councillor Clare McColl and Councillor Christine Deanie the excuse given by both councillors was that they had new groups applying to the area committee for grants and they had to make sure they had the funds to cover all applications.

“John (Edgar), Summerfest chair, was at the area committee meeting on Tuesday, April 8 in Rutherglen Town Hall when Councillor Clair McColl asked, as she did last year, why the funding for Summerfest was cut again this year, Councillor Russell Clearie said: ‘Twenty two groups did not apply but 10 new groups did apply,’ but looking at what was left of the area committee grant £3702; this does not answer why Summerfest did not get the £4000 to keep them in line with the grant received by the committee of Landemer Day in Rutherglen rather than give the full complement of £4000 to Summerfest the underspend was returned to the council and therefore lost to the community.”

Ms Watson added: “I have to ask Councillors Clearie and Tullett just why the community of Cambuslang cannot have the same treatment as the community of Rutherglen.”

Landemer Day currently receives £4100 funding from the council’s executive committee, while Lanimer Day in Lanark gets £4500. All other gala events receive £700 each.

Councillor Clearie said any underspend money has to be returned to the central budget.

He added: “Twenty-two groups didn’t apply last year while 10 new groups did. I don’t have a crystal ball for the next year so we need to make sure there is enough money for every group.

“Resources are getting tighter and tighter. That’s to be expected and has been indicated to the groups.

“You can’t just give out nearly £5000 to one group and groups can’t apply twice in the one year.

“I think we’ve been more than fair. I warned them five or six years ago that if they went through the executive like Landemer Day they would only get £700.”

All four South Lanarkshire area committees have had their community grant budgets slashed over the past few years.

It currently sits at £45,000 per year, down from £50,000 last year.

Geraldine McCann, head of administration and legal services, said: “Under the council’s rules, the revenue budget for community grants can’t be carried over into a new financial year. The recommendations presented to committee, on how much funding to award any applicant, are based on balancing the limited budget available with ensuring that the funds can benefit as many groups as possible.”